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TOKYO — Been there, done that. At least that’s how Serge Ibaka feels.

The big man believes it’s time to turn the page now that Toronto has climbed the NBA’s mountaintop. That’s why whenever he’s asked here in Japan about “defending Toronto’s title” the veteran centre attempts to twist the narrative.

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“We aren’t going to try to defend the title, we already won and now it’s a new challenge, a new beginning and we’re going to try again,” Ibaka said before a team practice on Monday in Tokyo.

“It’s not like we are going to defend the title (because now it’s a new one up for grabs). We’re going to try again. We’re not going to defend, we’re just going to try and compete. We already have that, we’re good. We want another one,” Ibaka said.

“What happened last year is over, we already know we’re the champs. Now it’s a new challenge and it will be even harder. I always say anything is possible so we’re going to go try that,” he said.

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Pundits seem to be down on Toronto’s chances of winning a different title this season, but it doesn’t seem like that lack of respect is bothering the Raptors at all.

“It might give us a little bit of extra motivation, but again, when you’re in the middle of it (later in the year), the pre-season predictions don’t really factor too much into what you want to do,” Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said.

“We’re so right close to it that we’re just trying to figure out who we can be and where we can go. We have a lot of confidence in our team, we like the players we have and I say there’s lots of paths to the title. Last year we found one and this year we’ll have to find a different one,” Nurse said.

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BIG MEN ON CAMPUS

Some of the Raptors and team staffers did some cultural sightseeing not long after arriving.

There isn’t a lot of downtime built into this trip for the Raptors, who have two games, some practices and shootarounds, and a number of league commitments while here, so it’s unclear how much more exploring they’ll be able to do.

That has left some of the players sad, but eager to come back.

Ibaka, for one, would like to get out and about, and also wouldn’t mind filming an episode of his cooking show in Japan. He immediately noticed while flipping through channels in his hotel room how important food is in the country.

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“There are so many shows about food. Beautiful,” Ibaka said.

“I love food. All the time I was watching the commercials about the food.”

COHESION USUALLY HELPS

Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni is from the school of thought that cohesion and familiarity matters early on in NBA seasons. Teams that have a lot of continuity from previous seasons tend to be a step ahead, at least in the early going.

Houston, of course, has added Russell Westbrook and subtracted other players like Chris Paul, so there is some work to be done.

“Obviously you’ve got all year to jell, but a lot of teams did make changes, mostly us, Clippers, Lakers,” D’Antoni said. “Then you’ve got Portland’s kind of the same, Denver’s kind of the same, Utah’s kind of the same, so they’ll have a little advantage early but hopefully as the year goes on it’s not that big of a deal,” he said.

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OLYMPICS CALLING

The NBA hasn’t had games in Japan in over a decade, but many of the top players will be back next summer for the Summer Olympics.

If Kyle Lowry and Ibaka can help it, they’ll be back too.

“If I’m chosen, I’m in,” Lowry said. “If Jerry and Pop (Colangelo and Gregg Popovich) make that call, I’m in. Hopefully, I’m here and will try to win another gold medal for my country. It’s important for me to represent my country at the highest level.”

Lowry wanted to play in the World Cup this summer, but his thumb injury from the playoffs had not yet healed from surgery.

Spain ended up winning that event without Ibaka, who sometimes teams up with Marc Gasol in the frontcourt for that team, too.

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“I would love to go play at the Olympics. The coach and the federation that’s for them to decide,” Ibaka said about if he’ll have a spot.

AROUND THE RIM

Lowry was asked about what his role will be this season with Kawhi Leonard gone. Would he become more of a scorer again, continue play-making? “I’m always going to be me. That’s my role,” Lowry said, drawing smiles. “Be me. My role is to help my team win. Good role right?” … A funny sight on Monday between team practices: Legendary centre Dikembe Mutombo launching three-pointers. Mutombo attempted only two of them in just shy of 1,200 career games. Though his form looked good, perhaps not surprisingly it took some time before he drained one on Monday. Ex-Raptors Shawn Marion and Chris Bosh are also on hand.

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